Organization plays wide-ranging role
No doubt about it—the scramble for a majority of City Council seats is well underway, with the grassroots political action committee Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation taking an early lead in recruiting candidates and framing issues.
The opening date for signups to run for the positions now held by Allen Castellano, Hank Wedaa and Jim Winder is four months away and balloting eight months ahead, but already residents are expressing interest in the contest.
YLRRR, which cites a string of election and petition victories since 2005, contributed to the stinging defeat of the tax hike to maintain landscaping and lighting on arterial streets.
Property owners cast 8,333 no and just 2,810 yes votes during the six-week mail-in ballot period. Only Councilman John Anderson and a few speakers opposed the increase during the council’s public comment period.
But YLRRR bought a full-page ad in a recent Yorba Linda Star, noting the city’s $35 million reserve and that the tax would collect more than the landscape account deficit.
Promoting a “yes” vote were Wedaa, Winder and Jan Horton. The city issued a full-color, four-page mailer with a “Facing the Challenge…The cost to keep Yorba Linda looking its best” headline.
Another YLRRR ad in the Star offered help to potential candidates who “want to make a difference” on council or the Yorba Linda Water District board, saying, “Let’s take back Yorba Linda together.”
YLRRR also opposed a $21,864 raise granted City Manager Tammy Letourneau on a 3-2 council vote, which brought her salary and benefits to $301,000. Castellano, Horton and Winder voted yes, while Anderson and Wedaa voted no.
Winder often states Letourneau’s pay is based on the median of a 12-city survey, while others note some of the cities differ from Yorba Linda in size, population and length of service of the city manager.
So YLRRRers are helpfully proposing a long-term solution they say will “redefine the focus of city management and put an end to out-of-control local government salaries.”
Their idea, presented as a potential ordinance or ballot initiative, is to cap the city manager and assistant city manager pay packages at 2.3 times Yorba Linda’s median family income, which this year is $121,075.
Current policy calls for Assistant City Manager Dave Gruchow to be paid 17 percent less than Letourneau, but they could each earn $278,473 in salary and benefits under the plan.
A FINAL NOTE
One reason YLRRR has been successful with petitions and endorsements the past three years is the positive response to the group’s ads, which cost less than other methods of communication, important to an organization funded by local residents and businesses.
And a Star ad reaches active citizens, according to a developer-funded survey on Town Center issues, which found 80 per cent of “always” and “most-of- the time” voters read the Star, 79 per cent the Orange County Register and 34 percent the Los Angeles Times.
The opening date for signups to run for the positions now held by Allen Castellano, Hank Wedaa and Jim Winder is four months away and balloting eight months ahead, but already residents are expressing interest in the contest.
YLRRR, which cites a string of election and petition victories since 2005, contributed to the stinging defeat of the tax hike to maintain landscaping and lighting on arterial streets.
Property owners cast 8,333 no and just 2,810 yes votes during the six-week mail-in ballot period. Only Councilman John Anderson and a few speakers opposed the increase during the council’s public comment period.
But YLRRR bought a full-page ad in a recent Yorba Linda Star, noting the city’s $35 million reserve and that the tax would collect more than the landscape account deficit.
Promoting a “yes” vote were Wedaa, Winder and Jan Horton. The city issued a full-color, four-page mailer with a “Facing the Challenge…The cost to keep Yorba Linda looking its best” headline.
Another YLRRR ad in the Star offered help to potential candidates who “want to make a difference” on council or the Yorba Linda Water District board, saying, “Let’s take back Yorba Linda together.”
YLRRR also opposed a $21,864 raise granted City Manager Tammy Letourneau on a 3-2 council vote, which brought her salary and benefits to $301,000. Castellano, Horton and Winder voted yes, while Anderson and Wedaa voted no.
Winder often states Letourneau’s pay is based on the median of a 12-city survey, while others note some of the cities differ from Yorba Linda in size, population and length of service of the city manager.
So YLRRRers are helpfully proposing a long-term solution they say will “redefine the focus of city management and put an end to out-of-control local government salaries.”
Their idea, presented as a potential ordinance or ballot initiative, is to cap the city manager and assistant city manager pay packages at 2.3 times Yorba Linda’s median family income, which this year is $121,075.
Current policy calls for Assistant City Manager Dave Gruchow to be paid 17 percent less than Letourneau, but they could each earn $278,473 in salary and benefits under the plan.
A FINAL NOTE
One reason YLRRR has been successful with petitions and endorsements the past three years is the positive response to the group’s ads, which cost less than other methods of communication, important to an organization funded by local residents and businesses.
And a Star ad reaches active citizens, according to a developer-funded survey on Town Center issues, which found 80 per cent of “always” and “most-of- the time” voters read the Star, 79 per cent the Orange County Register and 34 percent the Los Angeles Times.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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